Bristle-feeding mechanism.



W. G. LIEBIG.

BRISTLEFEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. 1915.

1 203, 2 1 2 Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. G. LIEBIG.

BRISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM- APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. 1915.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

snEHs-snsn 2.

NITEI STATES Pnmnr i is,

WILLIAM G. LIEBIG, 011 DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

BRISTLE-FEEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

Application filed March 26, 1915. Serial No. 17,193.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. LIEBIG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Bristle-Feeding Mechanism, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use vation of a, brush making machine, with its bristle-feeding box in position adjacent thereto. Fig. 2 is a cross section of the box, with some parts shown in elevation, along the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the box with a portion of the cover broken away. ,Fig. 4 is a detail sideeleva-. tion, partly in section."

11 indicates thev frame of the machine whose various parts arejdriven from the several cam wheels 12', which are mounted: upon the shaft 13, theseveral slidespby which movement is communicated to the variousparts of the machine, engaging in tracks in these cams. One of these actuating slides drives the bristle picker or carrying member 15, oscillating it about its pivot 16 as a center, so that its notched peripheryl'f engages against the forward edge, of a mass of bristles 18, stored in the box 19. As the details of thetuft-handlingmechanism form the subject matter of various patents already issued tome, and of applications now pending, no further detailed description need be here attempted as to these parts;

The bristles stored in the box 19 are fed forward toward the edge of the tuftgatherer, by the constant weight-actuated pressure of the follower 20, which carries the plate 21 on its forward edge. For many classes of bristle material, particularly the rougher grades, the compressive influence of this follower and its box is entirely sufficient. But for use with fine bristles, and especially with lengths of fine wire, now much used for this purpose, it is my experience that a greater compressive force on the bristles, and one acting in a variety of directions thereon, is necessary to hold them in such position that tufts of the desired size may be seized at each sweep of the tuftgathering member without displacement from their proper alinement, and that the bristles that remain in the box to be removed by subsequent sweeping of the picker member are similarly held against displace ment. To accomplish this, I provide in the first instance a pivoted floor piece 24 for the forward part of the box, which is yieldingly forced upward at its forward end by, means o f-a leaf spring 25, whose pressure can be adjusted by -means of the milled screw 26. ,I also supplement this containing influence upon the mass of bristles at theirforward edge, by means of the beveled catch piece 27, which is yieldingly supported in the bracket 28 by means of the spring 29, in such position that the beveled edge is slightly above the bottom of the mass of bristles engaged by the curved edge of the picker member.

To resiliently hold the mass of bristles against upward displacement when the upward sweep of the picker member results in filling the slot 17*, I provide on one edge of the bristle box, a long leaf spring or bar 30, whose rear end is pivoted in a post 81, and whose central portion is adapted to engage in the horizontal slotted top of the auxiliary post 32. If desired, these springs 30 may be of unequal length, thus necessitating only one auxiliary post 32. Similarly positioned along the other edge of the bristle box, though preferably not quite as long as the spring 30, is a second spring 30. When swung to a position lengthwise'of the box, these leave the forward free end of the springs resiliently placed upon the top of the mass of bristles 18 in such a way and to such a degree as to prevent. the escape of any bristles not seized by, and included in, the slot 17 These spring pieces 30 and 30 consequently serve not only. to hold the bristles from positive displacement by the picker, but also frombeing thrown out of alinement from their position across the box. There is thus'exerted upon the for.-

the other.

ward edge of the mass of bristles an upward and a downward movement which compresses the mass to such a degree as to make a firm body upon which the slot 17 in the picker or tuft-gatherer 15 can act, thus resulting in uniformity in the size of the tufts seized at each oscillation of the tuft-gatherer. To further secure the proper alinement of the bristles, there is provided on one edge of the box a horizontally acting leaf spring 33, which is inclosed in the top of the post 34 in such a way that the forward free end of each spring may act upon the ends of the mass of bristles as stored in a way tokeep them properly alined lengthwise of one another, thus bringing it about that each tuft of bristle is seized by the picker and bent when being stapled into the brush back at its exact center, thus securing uniformity in the lengths of the tufts, and rendering trimming thereof when the brush is completed either wholly unnecessary or only slightly necessary. There may also be provided, if desired, a similarly acting spring 33 on the other edge of the box, to engage the other ends of the bristles from those engaged by the spring 33.

If the bristles used are of wire, it may of course be assumed that they will be of unform diameter throughout their length, so that both edges of the mass stored within the box 19 are of equal extentwhen the mass is compressed by the action of the follower member 20. When, however, either fiber or hair bristles are used, the slightly tapering character of each contributes to cause an inequality in the extent of the mass lengthwise of the box on one side and on If the plate 21 carried onthe end of the follower 20 were rigidly positioned straight across the box 19 which would be entirely satisfactory in the case of wire bristles, this would result in the presentation of the fiber or hair bristles at the forward edge of the pile to'the action of the picker or tuft-gatherer 15 at an angle other than the right angle which is necessary for the formation of a neat and even lengthened tuft. To avoid this I provide for an adjustable attachment of the plate 21 to the follower 20 through the medium of the ears 23 and 23 and the screw22; the plate can thus be set at an angle corresponding to the rearmost edge of the mass of bristles when the bristles located at its forward edge, under equal compression, are located straight across the box, transversely of the line of movement of the follower member and similarly in perpendicular position to the plane of travel of the tuft-gatherer 15 whose notched edge engages them.

What I claim is 1. Feed mechanism for brush material, comprising a storage box, a steady pressure follower member for forcing material stored therein toward the delivery end therbof, a resiliently supported bottom piece for raising the material at the outer end of the storage pile slightly above the bottom of the storage box, and a pair of adjustable spring members adapted to engage the top of the mass of material to be withrawn from the storage box, to prevent undesired bending and displacement thereof when engaged by a tuft-removing member. o

2. In combination with a'storage box, a follower member slidably engaging lengthwise thereof to evenly press material stored therein toward the deliveryend thereof, and a pair of oppositely acting spring retaining members adapted to compress the material at the outer edge of the storage pile to prevent the escape or undesired displacement of the material remaining when a tuft of bristles is withdrawn by the action of an engaging external member. r r V 3. In'combination with means for feeding forward a mass of alined bristles the engaging forward portion thereof being angularly adjustable, a pair of spring members adapted to engage the end portions of the bristles at the top of the forward portion of the mass to prevent their unintended displace ment when frictionally engaged by a tuftremoving member, and spring means engaging the forward portion of the pile from beneath, to prevent the downward escape of the bristles under the influence of the reverse movement of the tuft-removing memher.

4. In combination, with a tuft-removing member, means for forcing a mass of stored bristles against the engaging periphery thereof while compensating for possible variations in the thickness of the mass from one side to the other, spring means for yieldingly holding the bottom ofthe pile of bristlesv against unintended displacement when frictionally engaged by the downward movement of the tuft removing member, and

. spring members engaging the ends of the bristles adjacent said tuft-removing member to resist the displacing influence of the tuftremoving member on its upward travel. H

5. The combination of a storage box, a follower member for forcing a mass of bristles stored therein toward the delivery end thereof, spring means for engaging the forward portion of the mass of bristles to prevent their unintended displacement when acted upon by a tuft-removing member, and alining members adapted to act upon the ends of the bristles to insure uniformityin the relative lengthwise position of the, in-' dividual bristles to one another.

6. Means for feeding brush material to a tuft-removing member, comprising a stor age box, a follower member adapted to force a mass of bristlestoward the delivery end of the box, and adjustable means for. exerting a yielding pressure from opposing directions upon the bristles about to be engaged by the tuft-removing member to prevent their undesired displacement.

' 7 In combination with a storage box, a follower member engaging lengthwise thereof to force a stored mass of bristles toward the delivery end thereof, and an angularly adjustable plate carried on the forward end of said follower member, whereby compensation may be effected for variations in the thickness of the mass of bristles from one side to another, thereby permitting the presentation of the foremost portion of the mass to the action of an external tuft-removing member in substantially perpendicular position to the plane of travel thereof.

8. In combination with a storage box a follower member adapted to exert pressure upon a stored mass of bristles, an adjustable plate carried thereby adapted to engage the rearmost portion of the mass of bristles to compensate for the possible tapering character of the mass of bristles and to present the bristles at the foremost edge of the pile in a substantially perpendicular position to the line of movement of the follower member.

9. Feed mechanism for brush material,

comprising a containing box having an open delivery end across which a tuft-removing member is adapted to engage, a pair of 0ppositely acting compressive members adapted to act upon that portion of the mass of stored bristles about to be engaged by the tuft-removing member, and an adjustable follower member adapted to exert a steady pressure upon the mass of bristles to force them toward the delivery end of the box and between said compressive members.

10. In combination with a feed box having an open delivery end, a plurality of series of resilient and oppositely acting bristleengaging members adapted to aline and compress the mass of bristles as the delivery end of the box is reached, and a steady pressure follower member having an angularly adjustable engaging end adapted to force the mass of bristles toward said open end and into the sphere of influence of said alining and compressing members.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM Gr. LIEBIG.

Witnesses:

JEFFERSON O. THURBER, MARION KIEFER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

